Palace Of Tears will be the name of my next album. I am 90% of the way through it now and I am hoping everybody will like it as much as I do.

The theme of the album is unashamedly romantic. It is a bittersweet album about living and working in Northern Europe over the last quarter century, I tried to avoid nostalgia, but many songs deal with the past and how it can never be reclaimed. That said, I am told it is a lot happier sounding than my last album!

The title track Palace of Tears was inspired by my memories of working in the former East Germany. The Berliners had a nickname for one of the checkpoints in the wall, this was a tube station in Friedrichstrasse and was used to visit their relatives in the East. On the way back it was a place of goodbyes, hence the beautifully ironic name ‘Der Tränenpalast’, The Palace Of Tears. I will be touring the former East Germany in October.

The sound of the album is placed firmly in Northern Europe too, with the addition of some local Swedish musicians (you don’t have to look far to find good players here), and some songs that reference Sweden, Scotland, and my roots.

All this seen through the prism of the Swedish winter as I look out from the studio. When the temperature drops below about minus 5, you can see diamonds glinting in the snow.